Newton-le-Willows and Earlestown War Memorial

In Memory of

Private Percy Foden

4131
D Company, 1st/4th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment
Killed in Action 8th August 1916 Age 20

Private Percy Foden was the son of Thomas and Dianah Foden of Thorn Bank, Golborne Road, Newton-le-Willows. Prior to enlisting, he had been a gardener to Mr. Randell, according to the obituary in the Warrington Guardian of 9th September 1916.

Percy had originally been reported as missing, but a letter to his mother in early September from Corporal Garland of the Royal West Kent Regiment stated that he had seen Private Foden's body in No Man's Land. "He died a noble death - fighting."

Percy was killed during the Battle of the Somme. The 4th Batallion South Lancashire Regiment was a pionnering regiment whose job it was to dig trenches and so on. Captain H. Whalley-Kelly, in his book “Ich Dien”, gives an account of the circumstances in which Captain Collingwood was killed and Percy Foden was one of "5 other ranks missing":

“On 7th August a local attack on Guillemont village was made by troops of the 55th Division, (with whom Leo Doyle of the 5th South Lancashires was fighting) and “D” Company of the Battalion was attached to the 164th Infantry Brigade for the operation. “D” Company was divided into two, the right half under Captain C. Collingwood and the left under Second-Lieutenant G. C. Coury, working in conjunction, respectively, with the 1st/8th King’s and 1st/4th King’s Own. In each case the role of the Pioneer parties was to dig communication trenches from the newly-captured positions back to our original line; a task involving great risks, as the troops had to work in the open, swept by machine-gun and shell fire.

“At 4.20 a.m. the attack went forward, closely followed by the two half companies of the 1st/4th, their Lewis gunners providing local covering fire. To describe the confused fighting that followed is outside the scope of this chronicle, suffice it to say that the assault broke down, but not before the right half company had constructed sixty yards of communication trench, while the left half company had dug, in one hour, a hundred yards of trench five feet deep; a magnificent effort on the part of “D” Company which cost it 2 officers (including Captain Collingwood) and 6 other ranks killed, and 1 officer and 47 other ranks wounded, plus 5 other ranks missing.”